ALS cure effort lives on after founder’s passing

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(080916) The Gosnell family. Scott, 19, Joey, 17, Kathy, Jake, 17, and Kevin Gosnell. Kevin founded the non profit group ALS Knights after being diagnosed with the disease in 2015 and died August 8, 2016. Courtesy of the Gosnell family

Kevin Gosnell lost his battle with the progressive neurological illness ALS on Monday at age 48 — but the Hanover man, determined from the day he was diagnosed to fight for a cure, leaves a legacy of accelerated medical research he helped organize and ?finance.

“He really gathered together Massachusetts researchers and care providers to work as a unified team,” said Massachusetts General Hospital Chief ?of Neurology Dr. Merit Cudkowicz, one of the doctors involved in Gosnell’s efforts. “He really inspired everyone to work together.”

Gosnell was diagnosed with a fast-moving form of the disease just over a year ago in May.

But in the short time before his death, Gosnell — who built and owned his own company, T&K Asphalt — launched ALS One, a community of the foremost ALS researchers in Massachusetts.

The organization has raised $5.2 million through grants and fundraising over the last year.

Bringing these minds together makes for a more effective and efficient ?effort, and allows the group to develop research ideas together, said Dr. Robert Brown, UMass Medical Center chairman of neurology and a member of ALS One.

“We have written proposals for augmented funding on strength of the argument that we can do more together than we can as individuals,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of strength in that argument.”

Along with Brown and Cudkowicz, the team consists of researchers from ALS Therapy Development Institute in Cambridge and Falmouth-based Compassionate Care ALS.

The group hopes to help find a cure by the year 2020, and it has stepped up the pace of existing ?research on the use of gene therapy to fight the disease.

Gosnell was an entrepreneur at his core, and always thought big — even in the face of a terminal illness, said his wife, Kathy Gosnell.

“In an instant, all of his dreams and goals were gone. His future, his business,” Kathy said of her late husband’s diagnosis. “But he quickly turned that around and came up with a new purpose, and a new vision, right from day one.”

Kathy, 48, was Gosnell’s biggest supporter from the time they met at the age of 18, she said. She will continue to invest her time and energy in ALS One.

Gosnell leaves behind three boys, Scott, 19, and identical 17-year-old twins Jake and Joey. The twins had plans to go into business with their dad. Now they hope to go to Babson College and study real estate investing, putting to use the skills they learned from him.

Jake said he and his brothers will continue to join in the efforts of ALS One, to give patients who are diagnosed a chance at surviving that his father didn’t have. And they will honor him by living the way his father lived — by giving back and showing appreciation for each day, he said.

“One thing I’ll miss is, he’s always believed in telling people how much he appreciates them,” Jake said. “He thanked me every night for being a good son. … We’ll just continue to fight for him, and make sure there’s a cure by 2020.”